Home on the Range
by Kallie
Summary: The SM girls have been raised on a ranch, But when tradegy strikes, they must take on hired help. Will the RW boys be able to survive life with our favorite heroines?
1. Oklahoma!

Authors note: This is an Alternate Universe fic. Have fun.

****

Home on the Range

By Kallie

The wind swept over the lowland plains. Nothing but scrub and the occasional tree greeted the eye for miles. A horn rang out in the distance, calling everyone in. The two people it was meant for looked at each other and swung their horses around. They headed toward a settlement in the distance.

"What do you think it is?" The speaker had long raven hair done in a braid. Her violet eyes squinted against the sun. She had on a long-sleeved shirt and red vest. She also wore brown pants. 

"I don't know Raye. But it must be important." This one had short blue hair, which was hidden under a hat. She wore a long sleeved white blouse, and pants. Her intelligent dark-blue eyes scanned the distance. 

"Maybe we should step on it then Ami." The two urged their horses into a run. 

After about ten minutes they had almost reached the settlement. It was a huge fenced in yard. It had a big main house, a bunkhouse for hired help, a stable, and a storage house. There was also some fenced off areas with cattle in them, and next to the house was a garden.

The two young women rode into the yard and were greeted by another young woman. This one had blonde hair done up in two buns so that they looked like meatballs. She had bright cerulean blue eyes. She wore a light blue blouse and long midnight blue skirt. "Come quickly! Mina's about to blow!" 

Raye and Ami dismounted. They followed Serena into the main house, then the parlor. A group of four people were sitting there. The only male in the room stood up. "Good, you're here." He had long white hair and blue eyes. Sitting next to him was a woman with wavy black hair and brown eyes. She looked around 40. The other two in the room were the same age as Raye, Ami, and Serena. One had lemon blonde hair, which was pulled into a half ponytail. She had light blue eyes. Her name was Mina. She was wearing a pale orange dress with a white shawl over her shoulders.

The other young lady had Auburn hair that fell to the middle of her back. She was taller than the rest and had forest green eyes. She was dressed in a green and white shirt with a matching skirt. She turned toward the two adults. "Well, what's so important?"

"Lita, have patience." Lita glowered at them. 

"Girls," Luna, the older lady, started, "We've decided to get ranch hands."

"WHAT?!"

"How could you?" came Ami's quiet reply. "Don't you think we're capable of running the ranch ourselves?"

"That's not it Ami. You're all beautiful young women, and you deserve the chance to get away from here." Artemis said.

"Don't lie to us. We'll never fit in with polite society, and we don't want to." Mina snapped.

"Girls! That's not it at all!" Luna exclaimed. "You've done an excellent job running this ranch considering, but your young ladies of privilege and this is not behavior befitting ladies of your station."

"Father left us this ranch. It's ours and _we_ will run it. We don't need or want help." Serena commanded. She gave the two adults a look that clearly said the conversation was finished.

"I'm sorry girls. But Luna and I are still your guardians, and we've already hired a group of people. There's not much you can do about it." This earned a glare from each of the girls. One by one they stormed out of the room.

Luna looked at Artemis. "Well, what do we do now?"

"There's not much we can do."

"So you're just giving up?"

Of course not! I don't want outside help anymore than they do, you know that!"

"I do."

"But we won't be able to keep the ranch up, plus there are more and more attacks by outlaws. We have to keep the girls safe."

Luna sighed. "Yes. But they're never going to forgive us."

"When does the help arrive?"

"Thursday."

"But today's Tuesday! That doesn't give us much time to get things ready."

"We'll have the girls start it tomorrow."

"But we'll be short two, Ami and Raye have to go to town."

"Oh, I forgot. Maybe we should go try to make peace with them?"

"All right." They stood up to go find the girls, who were spread out everywhere. Ami was sulking in the library, Serena was in her favorite tree, Mina was in the stable, Lita in the garden, and Raye was by the cattle.

Luna headed for Ami, then Serena, and Lita. Artemis had Mina and Raye. By the time they had convinced the girls that this was for the best, it was evening. 

The girls were quiet and moody throughout dinner, and went up to their rooms right after. The main house had a parlor, four bedrooms, a big kitchen, and a library/office. Ami and Lita shared a room; Mina and Raye shared another. Serena got her own room, and Luna and Artimus had the other.

The next morning dawned early, and the whole house was up. Ami and Raye left for town right before dawn. Lita made breakfast for everyone else. It was over breakfast that Luna broke the news.

"Girls. I need you to fix up the bunkhouse."

"But Luna . . ." Serena whined. 

"Uh-uh. You're fixing that place up, and you'll do it right after breakfast."

"And what are you going to be doing Luna?" Mina asked sweetly.

"I'm going to be going over our expenses and things like that." 

The girls grumbled but changed into scruffy clothes. They hauled paint and linen and chairs over to the bunkhouse. The bunkhouse was painted white inside and out. Serena set about opening all the windows and airing out everything. Mina touched up the paint job and Lita started to fix the leaky spot on the roof. When Mina and Serena had finished their jobs, they climbed up on the roof to help Lita.

"Why do we have to do this!?" Mina exclaimed after she hammered her thumb for the fifth time. 

"Because our guardians think we can't handle the ranch by ourselves." Serena stated. "What right do they have to do that to us! The ranch was left to us, not them."

Lita sighed. "Let's face it. We finally find someplace to call home, and we're told we can't handle it."

Mina was about to say something but was interrupted by someone entering the courtyard. They all turned to see who it was. It happened to be a young man a few years older than them, with jet-black hair and stormy blue eyes. 

Mina and Lita grinned at Serena who was blushing. "Your gentleman's come calling." Mina teased. 

The young man rode up to the bunkhouse. Hello ladies."

"Hi Darien."

"Need some help?"

"YES!" Mina shot out before Serena could say anything. Darien climbed off his horse and up on the roof. Soon he was working side by side with Serena. The two were talking quietly. Lita and Mina were smirking at each other. They all knew that Darien and Serena were sweet on each other. 

They finished with the bunkhouse about mid-afternoon. "Woo." Lita said wiping off her face, "It's really hot out here." The others nodded in agreement while heading toward the house. They made small talk for awhile, and then Lita left to make supper. The rest of the day was pretty uneventful.

That is until about 3 in the morning. Serena was woken up by the cattle. She was about to roll over and go back to sleep when she heard someone shouting. Her heart beating faster she silently slipped out of her room to go wake Mina and Lita. As she was passing by the window movement caught her eye. The 3/4-quarter moon illuminated a group of eleven people. They were stealing the cattle!

Serena whirled around and ran into the room Lita and Mina were sharing. Darien was spending the night so Lita and Mina decided to share a room.

"Guys wake up!" Serena whispered urgently, while shaking them wildly. "We've got bandits!" Lita and Mina were up in a flash. "Go get Darien. We'll get Luna and Art." Mina commanded. 

A few minutes later they were all gathered in the library. "Artemis what's the plan?" Luna demanded.

"You stay here. Darien and I will take care of them."

"Like Hell we're staying here!" Lita exclaimed. "LITA!" Luna admonished. "We know how to shoot. We'll help." Lita continued, ignoring Luna.

"Fine. Luna you come with me, Darien you protect the girls." Everyone nodded. Darien, Artemis, and Luna grabbed riffles; while the girls were stuck with handguns.

The girls went around the back of the house, Luna and Artemis toward the cattle. The girls crept in the shadows keeping as silent as possible. At one point Mina stubbed her toe on something, almost giving them away. At one point Mina stubbed her toe on something, almost giving them away. Darien spotted 4 of the bandits and motioned for the girls to get ready. The girls looked at each other and Serena held up three fingers. She silently ticked them off and the girls all struck at once. They managed to knock out three of them. Darien pointed his riffle at the other one. "Don't move." He commanded. Mina tied up the ones that were out of it, and they herded them toward the other side of the house.

They were just rounding the corner when shots rang out. Serena and Mina ran toward where the noise had come from but Darien and Lita grabbed them. 

"We've got to stay in the shadows." Darien hissed.

They inched over so they could see what was happening. Three bodies lay on the ground. Luna stood protectively in front of one with long white hair, her riffle trained on the leader of the bandits. The two were in a stalemate, with each having their weapon aimed at the other.

"Get out of my way." The leader demanded.

Luna narrowed her eyes. "And you expect us to just stand by while you steal our livelihood. Not going to happen, we'll never survive the winter if you do!"

"And I feel so bad for you too." He said without conviction.

Serena and the others were watching quietly, when suddenly one of their captives moaned. Luna whipped her head in their direction. The leader seeing this as his chance fired at her.

Luna clutched her abdomen and toppled forward. 

"NOOOOOO!!!!!!" Serena screamed out and ran towards them. The others followed her. The remaining bandits turned toward them. The leader strode up to them; his men were between the girls and their fallen guardians. "Give me my men." He demanded harshly.

His men were hastily pushed toward him. "We're taking some of your cattle. I'll let you be if you promise not to stop us." He was feeling slightly sorry for the girls who were bawling.

"Just leave!" Lita spat at him. He motioned to his men and they moved out of the way. The girls immediately ran to Luna and Artemis. Darien stood there watching them steal the girls livelihood. When they'd ridden out of sight he turned to comfort Serena.

As she was turning from Luna she heard something. She looked down to see Luna staring at her. "You look so much like your mother." She whispered. "My sweet Princess." Luna smiled at her, then closed her eyes. Serena broke down, sobs raking her body. She felt warm arms encircle her.

"Wait!" Mina cried, she was bent over Luna's body. "She's still alive!"

They all looked at each other. "We've got to get her inside, maybe we can save her." The girls rushed inside, while Darien carried her.

He took her to her room, where Lita was waiting. Mina was filling pots with hot water, and Serena was gathering every medical supply they had. They ran the stuff up to the room.

Lita had ripped away the clothing from the wounded area. Serena shooed Darien out of the room. When he protested, she told him to go get the doctor. He agreed and rode off as quickly as possible.

The girls bustled about the room performing basic first aid. When they'd got the bleeding under somewhat control, they moved Luna, but just long enough to change the bedding. Lita ran the old bedding downstairs and dumped it in the garbage pit. When she got back to the room, the bedding was changed and Luna resting.

"What are we going to do with Artemis?" She asked.

"Bury him of course." Mina answered. They all looked out the window, to where the horizon was starting to turn colors. 

They buried Artemis under Serena's favorite tree. The sun was coming up when they'd finished. Serena, who'd been watching Luna, came out for the "funeral". The sun's rays shone on the girls faces, which were dirty and tear stained. For the moment they had no more tears.

A hard look of resolution was on Mina's face. "Now there's no way we can give up on this ranch. We won't let them have suffered in vain." The girls nodded. Suddenly Lita started to sing. The others picked up after the first verse. The song they were singing was:

__

Amazing Grace, How sweet the sound

That saved a wretch like me!

I once was lost, but now am found

Was blind, but now I see.

They moved inside to check on Luna. They decided that the schedule would be Lita, Mina, and then Serena. The morning sped by while they moved about their chores in a kind of a daze that morning.

They forgot to change their blood stained clothes, and were anxiously waiting for Darien and the Doctor.

__

Meanwhile . . .

"Why are we doing this again?" A young woman asked. She had long red hair pulled up into a bun. She turned her blue-green eyes toward the young man next to her. He sighed. 

"You know why we're doing this Mia." He had black hair and tiger blue eyes. He was also Japanese. 

"I know Ryo. It's just that I'm going to miss everyone." Ryo leaned over and grabbed her hand.

"It's OK."

The rest of the group consisted of 4 other boys. One had blonde hair and pale violet eyes. His name was Sage, and he was half-american. The boy next to him was Chinese and had ash-blue hair and dark blue eyes. His name was Kento.

The other boy was named Cye. He was British and had brown hair and sea colored eyes. And last by not least was Rowen. He was from New York. He has blue hair and eyes.

The group was an odd one, but they were almost family. They'd met up while working on the railroad, and had all felt a connection. They'd left the railroad due to bad working conditions. Now they were headed toward a ranch to help out. Mia was the one who'd found the job and done all the negotiations. 

"I'm starting to worry about this job." Rowen commented. "They didn't show up to meet us, and we had to get directions from that crazy dude at the station." 

"That's not a very nice thing to say Rowen." Cye admonished.

"When are we going to get there. We've been riding for hours." Kento whined.

"We should be almost there. According to that guy it should be about two more miles." Sage answered. 

They continued in silence for awhile. Then the ranch came into view in the distance. They all sighed in relief, and urged the horses to go a little faster. They rode into the courtyard only to find it deserted. Mia dismounted and led her horse to the stable with the others following her. 

When they left the stable the yard was still empty. So they headed toward the main house. When they were almost to the front door it was opened. Someone with blonde hair came out, but her back was to them. She was talking to someone inside. She turned around and gave out a cry of surprise when she saw them. The next thing they knew she'd run back in the house and slammed the door.

The guys looked at each other. Then back to the door.

"Who wants to go knock?" Mia asked. 

The guys all pointed toward someone else. Mia sighed. "Fine, I'll pick then. Kento can go."

Kento gave Mia an evil look but walked up to the door. He was about to knock when the door was thrown open. Kento found himself face to face with a gun.

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

So how did you like it? In case you haven't noticed yet this is a RW/SM x-over. Please review, I'll be indebted to you for like forever if you do. Thanx.

-Kallie

Disclaimer: I don't own Sailor Moon or its characters, I don't own Ronin Warriors either. I make no money off of this. But it'd be cool if I did.


	2. What are we going to do?

****

Home on the Range

By Kallie

Ch 2

Kento's eyes moved from the gun to the person holding it. Her green eyes were alive with electricity. She stepped outside into the sunlight and he could see that her clothes were bloodstained, and she had a red smudge on her cheek. She growled at him, then seemed to notice the people behind him. They all had looks of shock on their faces.

"Step back and keep your hands where I can see them." She ordered. Kento did take one step back. "Get over by your friends." Lita kept her gun trained on his face. "Why are you here?" 

Before they could respond Mina came running out of the house. "Luna's getting worse! She's got a fever now, and she still won't stop bleeding!"

Lita dropped the gun, picked up her skirts and ran in the direction of the kitchen. Mina turned to the group of strangers. "Do any of you happen to be a doctor or nurse?" She pleaded urgently.

Mia stepped forward, "I'm trained as a nurse, and Sage knows something about healing as well."

"Oh thank you. Hurry and follow me." Mina turned and ran into the house. The others followed her. They entered in time to see Lita come out of the kitchen with a tub of steaming water. "Where's Serena?"

"She's up there trying to help."

They ran up the stairs, with Lita, Mia, and Sage at the front. When they entered the room Mia gasped. There was blood everywhere. "Set the water over there, and get clean bedding now!" Her nursing instincts kicking in. She washed her hands and moved over to Luna. "Sage I need you to apply pressure to the wound." She turned to the others, "I want all of you out of here."

Mina rounded up everyone and shooed them out, but Serena wouldn't budge. "I'm not leaving!"

"Serena do you really think you'll be of any help?!"

Serena looked at Mina, her bottom lip trembling. "Oh, Serena. I didn't mean it like that. Come on let's go get some of Lita's tea." She put her arm around Serena's shoulders and led her out of the room. 

They got down to the first floor and went toward the kitchen. They found Lita standing by the door. Mina's eyes got wide. "Lita, we need some more beef."

"No we don't." She said and turned to enter the kitchen. She'd got the door halfway open when Darien ran in with the doctor. 

"Where's Luna?" 

They pointed upstairs and he raced up.

"Who are they?" Darien asked, looking suspiciously at the hired help. The girls looked at each other. "You know in all the excitement we forgot to ask." Before they could get an answer they heard noise in the courtyard.

"What now!" Serena exclaimed. 

They entered the courtyard to see Ami and Raye. They gasped when they saw the girls' appearance. "What happened?" 

"And who are they?" Raye demanded.

"Now Raye, don't be rude. They're obviously the hired help." Ami reasoned.

Serena, Mina, and Lita looked at each other. "Why didn't we think of that?"

"Ami, Raye, we need to talk."

"What happened?" Ami asked apprehensively.

"Well last night we had bandits . . . and . . . well . . ." Serena broke off.

"They killed Artemis, and shot Luna." Lita finished for her. Then she went into detail as to what exactly had happened. Ami ran to comfort Serena and Mina, who had been closest to the two guardians. She started to sob herself. Raye on the other hand, clenched her fists and a single tear rolled down her cheek. She'd grieve in private.

When they'd collected themselves Serena turned to the "strangers". "Thank you for your help. Let us introduce ourselves." Serena smiled at them, but it was a sad smile that didn't reach her eyes. "Welcome to the Cosmos Ranch." She spread her hands to indicate the area around her. "My name is Serena." She pointed to her left, "The blonde is Mina, and the Blue haired girl is Ami. The brunette is Lita, and to her right is Raye."

Ryo stepped forward. "It's nice to meet you. My name is Ryo Sanada." He turned to the guys; "This is Kento Rei Faun. And to his right is Cye Mouri. Rowen is the other one. The woman upstairs tending your friend is Mia Koji, and the guy helping her is Sage Date." 

At that moment the Doctor, Mia, and Sage walked outside. 

"How is she?" Raye demanded.

The doctor smiled at her. "She's got a temperature, but thanks to all of your quick thinking she should be fine in a few weeks."

Everyone sighed in relief. "Make sure she gets lots of liquids, and that nothing gets her too riled up. And the biggest thing of all, make sure that you keep the wound clean. It's slightly infected, and if the infection gets worse it could kill her."

They all nodded.

"Right then, I'll be on my way." 

When the doctor had left and they'd brought Mia and Sage up to speed, Mina offered to give them a tour of the ranch. She led them to the bunkhouse to drop off their bags. "Miss Mia you can stay in the main house with the rest of us girls." Mia smiled at her. "You can call me Mia."

"Thank you, but only if you call me Mina." They made more small talk while the guys claimed beds, which was pretty funny. 

Kento was wrestling Ryo for a bunk; Sage and Rowen were having a staring contest. And while they were all fighting over beds, Cye strolled past them and claimed the bed he wanted. In the end Sage and Kento won, and Rowen and Ryo took the other beds, but not without pouting. 

"Boys! Are you done yet!" Mia demanded, tapping her foot quickly. They nodded sheepishly and followed Mina out. 

Mina gave them the grand tour, which lasted about half an hour. They ended up at the cattle pen, where Raye was. Mina waved to Raye, and she waved back. 

"Let's go see what Raye's up to!" She exclaimed. 

"Are you sure that's a good idea?" Rowen questioned.

"Oh sure! Raye's a peach. Maybe we can give her a hand."

"All right." Mia announced and headed for Raye. The others looked slightly shocked, and hurriedly followed. When Mia reached Raye, her back was to them. She was standing next to the fence that bordered the road. "What are you doing?"

Raye jumped and whirled around, her hand over her heart. "Don't do that!"

"Sorry."

"It's OK. I'm just counting the cattle." A bitter look passed over her face, followed by sadness. "I have to see how many we have left after we were raided last night."

"How many were taken?" Rowen asked. 

"Well so far, from what I've counted, they took 500."

"WHAT?! But that's half our stock!"

"I know. Looks like we'll be cutting down on supplies again."

"Well better go tell Ami. She'll want to get to work on our expenses right away." 

They were about to head back to the house, when someone greeted them. "Hello Raye. You're looking beautiful as usual." 

"And Mina, a vision as always."

The two people addressing Raye and Mina were the last people they wanted to see. They happened to be from a competing ranch. The one that spoke to Raye was tall with dark purple hair. He was handsome outside, but inside he was as ugly as you could get. His mane was Jim. Mina's would be gentleman, Roy, was a little shorter with chestnut colored hair, and he was as good looking as his companion. Unfortunately for him, he was also lacking where it mattered.

The two girls stiffened when they heard the voices. Raye turned around, a look of disgust on her face. "What do _you_ want." She spat.

"Tsk. Tsk. is that anyway for a lady to talk." Raye's only answer was to glare at him. 

"Go away. We don't need this right now." Mina answered for her. Her look was cold enough to freeze. 

"Looks like you ladies are short some cattle. What. Didn't you play nice with the bandits." Roy joked. Jim joined in on Roy's laughter. 

At this point Raye's temper got the better of her. Her gun was cocked and pointed at them before even she realized what was happening. "I fail to see what is so funny."

Jim and Roy's laughter died. "Now get off our property." When they made no move to leave Raye fired a shot, purposefully missing. "I SAID GET OUT!" She yelled. They still just stared at her stupidly.

The guys moved toward them. "You heard the lady." Kento said. " I believe she told you to get lost." The guys all had their hands on their gun handles. 

Roy and Jim glared at the guys, but wheeled their horses around and left. They all watched till the two were out of sight. Then they headed back to the house. Raye reported their loses to Ami.

"What?! I've got to go work on our expenses right away!" and she raced off to the library.

"Does anyone want some tea?" Lita asked.

"I do." Came from Mia, Cye, Sage, Serena, and Ami's faint reply from the library.

"I'll get it!" Mina hurriedly said and raced around Lita.

"No, it's OK. I can get it Mina."

"NO!"

Lita gave Mina a strange look. "What I mean", Mina rambled," Is that we're out of tea. So you can't have any."

"Then why did you say earlier that Lita would be making tea?" Serena asked confused.

"Because . . . I just remembered that we're out."

"We're not out of tea Mina. I just checked yesterday." Lita said and pushed past Mina into the kitchen. Mina stood there a look of growing apprehension on her face.

"MINA!!" 

Lita stormed out of the kitchen. "What did you do to my kitchen!" she demanded.

"Well, I was cleaning it, and . . . you see . . ."

"All I see is my kitchen in shambles, and half our flour on the floor."

"It's really a funny story." Mina said unconvincingly.

"I _don't_ want to hear it. I'm going to go make the tea and start cleaning up."

"I'll help"

"NO you won't." Lita cut her off. "You've helped me enough." Lita went back into her kitchen, Mina following her, apologizing the whole way.

"So." Serena started," What do you guys like to do? And how on earth did you get together?"

"We met up on the railroad." Rowen started to explain. But was interrupted when Ami came out of the library. "Lita where's that tea?" She rubbed her temples. "I'm going to need a lot of it. Luna and Artemis really had no idea what they were doing. No wonder our expenses were getting bad." She sighed. "Oh, and don't expect me for supper tonight, I'll be lucky if I can finish this before midnight." She turned to go back to the library.

"Would you like some help?" Rowen asked. 

"All right, thanks." Ami smiled at him. "But bring the tea, or don't bother helping." She joked.

"Yes, ma'am." He bowed to her. Ami went into the library chuckling.

"Well, picking up where Rowen left off," Ryo continued," we met at the railroad. Rowen was there doing the calculations and mathematical stuff. Kento and I were the ones doing the hard labor. Mia was a nurse, and Sage helped out at the clinic when he wasn't working with us."

"And where does you fit into this?" Raye asked turning to Cye. 

"I was the cook."

"Really?"

"Yea, but I got stuck doing labor too."

"That must have been yucky work." Serena commented. "I've heard some horrible things about the railroad."

"Whatever you heard, it's true." Mia spoke up.

Lita and Mina walked in then with the tea. "Really?" Lita asked, her eyebrow raised. "I've heard some pretty bad things."

"Believe me, they're _all_ true." 

"You poor thing." Mina gushed and ran over to give her a hug. Mia looked slightly shocked. 

"Mina stop wierding out our guests, and go give this to Ami, and ?"

"Rowen." Mia answered for her. Lita nodded her thanks, and handed Mina a huge thermos of tea. 

"So did you get the kitchen cleaned?" Cye asked. 

"No." Lita sent a dirty look at Mina. 

"Would you like some help with it?"

"Thank you, but you don't need to."

"Girls? Whose upstairs with Luna?" Darien asked.

The girls all looked at each other. "Luna!"

"It was your turn Serena." Mina caused. 

"No way. It was Raye's turn."

"How could it have been my turn, when I just got home!" Raye exploded at Serena.

"Well it was your turn after mine. And I finished when the doctor got here."

"It can only be my turn if I know about it meatball head!"

"Don't call me Meatball head!" Serena screamed back at Raye.

"SHUT UP!" Everyone froze and looked toward the library, where Ami was standing. "How do you expect me to get anything done with all this racket?! You should be up there with Luna, not down here arguing about it!" Ami turned around and slammed the door.

"I'll do it." Raye said. 

"No I will." Serena said.

"Would you just shut up and get up there!" Mina shot out. The two looked sheepishly at the floor and went up to stay with Luna.

"Honestly! Those two are horrible!" Mina commented.

"I'm going to go make supper. Mina you can help."

"Lita is that really a good idea?" Darien questioned.

"I said she can help, _all right_."

"Yeah, of course." Darien quickly replied.

"Lita, is there anything I can help with?" Mia asked.

"If you really want to then of course there is. And that goes for anyone who wants to help." So they all relocated to the kitchen.

"I hope you don't mind me asking, but how did you ladies meet up?" Sage asked.

"Well, we've always been together." Mina started. "Our parents were friends, and when they died they left us with Serena's father. We were 4 at the time."

"But he died two years ago." Raye picked the story up as she walked into the kitchen. "When that happened, Luna and Artemis became our guardians. They'd been helping out with the ranch for as long as we can remember."

"When did you move to the ranch?" Mia asked as she chopped carrots.

"Right after our parents died and Serena's father took us all in, he bought this ranch. He had Luna and Artemis move out here to start it up. We were kept in polite society, except we didn't fit in, we all moved out here when were 8. So we've grown up together."

"And you've been running this ranch ever since?" Kento asked, surprised.

"You got a problem with that?" Raye snapped.

"No. It's just surprising that so few people could run this ranch for so long."

"We haven't been running it by ourselves." Lita explained. "Mia, could you give me those carrots, and Mina move away from the stove." She commanded. "You see, Serena's father had hired help. We used to have lots more cattle, so we had lots of people who dealt with just moving the cattle around, but only a few who actually stayed here. But the one's that stayed with us died with Serena's father and the others left afterwards. So we've been doing everything by ourselves."

"Oh."

"How did Serena's father and the others die?"

"They were on a train that was robbed, and then derailed. Everyone but the bandits was killed." 

"I'm sorry .I shouldn't have asked that." Kento apologized.

"It's all right."

"Well supper's ready." Lita announced.

So Sage went to get the others and they all sat down and ate. When supper was over Kento volunteered to help Lita with the dishes. Everyone else moved out to the parlor. When the dishes were finished, Lita took some of the food they'd had and forced Ami and Rowen out of the library.

"So Ami, how's it look?" Serena asked. It was Darien's turn with Luna. 

"Not good." Ami replied. "We've got to get the cattle to market right away. We saved lots of produce from the garden right?" Lita nodded. "Good. Because we're only going to buy what we absolutely need for this winter."

The girls looked outside. "Autumn's almost over. Just a few more hot days left." Raye commented.

"How can that be?" Mia commented. She looked up from the piece of cross-stitching she was doing. "It was so hot today."

"Well out here it's either hot or cold. We don't have very long springs or falls. One day it's hot, and the next it snows."

"Oh."

Ami stretched. "Well I don't know about you guys, but I'm tired, and going to bed. " The girls nodded, concealing yawns. "Good night." Mia called after them, as they climbed the stairs.

She turned to the guys, "So, what do you think?"

"I think we'll fit in perfectly." Rowen commented, his eyes still on the stairs. Mia gave him a sly look. "Would that be because of a certain blue haired girl?"

He blushed. "Man it's late. Well I'm going to bed." He said quickly. The other guys followed him, teasing him the whole way. 

Mia smiled to herself. She laid her cross-stitch down. As she was walking up the stairs she thought to herself, _I think we're finally home._

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

Same disclaimer as before. Don't own, and don't make no money off them. Bye yalls'.

But before you leave, see that big button that says "review" on it? Click on it and tell me what you think. It's quick, it's easy, and it's painless.


	3. Wake up Sunshine!

****

Home on the Range

By Kallie

Ch 3

Sage had gotten up early to meditate. It was one of his habits. He went to sit under the only tree around (that would be Serena's). He sat down with his back pressed against the tree, and waited for the sun to come up. 

Raye, who had already been up for an hour, moved to the tree. She walked to the single mound under it, and knelt down. "I'm sorry Artemis. I'll miss you." A lump caught in her throat. She watched as the sun began to slowly peek over the horizon. She felt the first few tears slide down her cheeks, and dealt with the pain the best way she knew how. Raye decided to grace Artemis with her voice. She smiled to herself, "Well you always wanted to hear me sing Artemis. Here's your chance." She took a deep breath and began.

Vs 1_:There's a hero, _

If you look inside your heart

You don't have to be afraid of what you are

There's an answer

If you reach into your soul

And the sorrow that you know will melt away.

Refrain:_ Then a hero comes along_

With the strength to carry on

And you cast your fears aside

And you know you can survive

So when you feel like hope is gone

Look inside you and be strong

And you'll finally know the truth

That a hero lies in you

Vs2_: It's a long road,_

When you face the world alone

No one reaching out a hand for you to hold

You can find love

If you search within yourself

And the emptiness you felt will disappear

Refrain (again)

Lord knows, dreams are hard to follow

But don't let anyone tear them away

Just hold on

There will be tomorrow

And in time you'll find the way

Raye broke down and started to cry. Strong arms encircled her from behind, and she stiffened. She whirled around, masking her pain with anger. Sage was standing there. 

"I'm sorry."

The look in his eyes stopped her reply. She stared at him for a moment, then threw her arms around him and started to sob.

Sage was slightly taken aback by this, but wrapped his arms around her waist. Just giving her comfort by letting her grieve. When her tears where done, she pushed away, wiping at her eyes. "Thank you." And she started back to the house. She turned around to look at him. "Are you coming?" She inclined her head toward the house. He smiled and hurried to catch up with her.

They walked into the kitchen to see Lita standing at the stove. "Morning!" She greeted cheerfully. They looked toward the rest of the girls who were sitting at the table. Serena's eyes were closed, her head was nodding, Mina was looking at Lita in disgust, and Mia was helping Lita make breakfast. Ami was up taking care of Luna. "How can she be so cheery this early?" Mina asked incredulous, still looking at Lita.

Raye snagged a cup of coffee and sat down next to Serena. She was going to ask Sage if he wanted a cup, when Serena's head hit the table. 

"OWWWWWWW!!!!!!!" She jerked it up, oatmeal covering her forehead. Raye spit the coffee she'd been drinking all over Sage, who was standing in front of her. The others started to laugh uncontrollably. 

Serena glared at them all, while she was wiping her face off. Raye was apologizing profusely to Sage. "I'm so sorry."

"It's OK. I'll just change my shirt."

"I feel bad, so you have to let me wash it."

"No that's OK."

"I insist."

He nodded. "All right then."

Lita, still giggling, asked Sage, "Are the others up yet?"

"No."

"Well, breakfast is almost ready. Who wants to wake them up?" When no one volunteered Mina raised her hand. "Fine. I'll do it."

"Thanks." Lita smiled at her.

"Wait Mina!" Mina stopped and looked at Mia. "You'll need this." Mina was handed a small tub of water. 

"What am I supposed to do with this?"

"You'll know when you get there. But save it for a certain blue-haired boy." Mia smiled mischievously. 

Mina walked out the door muttering. When she reached the bunkhouse, she knocked. Nothing happened. _It's too early for this._ She thought to herself. _If I'm up, they should be up._ She banged on the door, then stormed in.

"Everybody up!" She yelled. She went to the windows and threw them open, letting the early morning light filter in. She turned around to see Cye sitting up and looking at her. Mina set the tub down and marched over to Ryo and Kento. She threw the covers off, "Rise and shine!" They grumbled but got up. She turned to see Rowen still asleep. Without thinking she picked up the tub of water and threw it on him.

Rowen shot up with a shout. "What was that for?" he demanded.

Mina gave him a sugary smile; "You needed to wake up." She turned and walked to the door. "Anyone who wants to eat, come with me." 

Cye, who had gotten up right before Mina came barging in, stood up and followed her.

"Mina wait!"

She turned to him, "Yes?"

"I just wanted to escort you in." He grinned, and offered her his arm. She studied it then smiled. She linked her arm through his and they entered the house.

"Aww, isn't that cute." Raye commented. Mina and Cye blushed, and sat down.

"Are the others coming?" Serena questioned. She was awake now. 

"Yep, they'll just be a minute." And that was when the guys burst through the door. 

"Let's eat!"

"Kento!" came the response from the guys and Mia. 

"Sorry." The girls laughed, while looking at Serena. "What?" 

"Nothing Serena. Would you be so kind as to take this up to Ami?" Lita asked.

"But Lita, then I'll be late."

"I'll do it." Ryo volunteered. Mia smiled at him.

"Thanks Ryo. " Lita said as she handed him the plate of food. He took it and went upstairs. He knocked and entered Luna's room. Ami stood up when he entered. "Thanks, just set it down there." She pointed to a small table.

"How are you doing?" Ryo asked concerned. Ami looked tired and a little bedraggled. 

"I'm fine. Thanks."

Ryo nodded, and went back downstairs. When he entered the kitchen, everyone was there. "Where's Darien?"

"He went into town to get us some more supplies, and to gather his stuff. He offered to help us out. " Serena replied happily. The girls all looked at her with knowing looks. She blushed when she noticed them.

"He wants to help us!"

"Hmm, I wonder why that would be. Could it be because of a certain blonde haired beauty."

"Mina?" Rowen asked. Everyone looked at him. 

"Tell me he's not serious."

"Give him an hour."

"Oookay." Mina gave Rowen a weird look. "Well, you boys get to start working today."

The guys all ignored that comment and continued to eat. The girls decided to follow their example as the food was rapidly disappearing.

When that was finished, and everyone had washed-up/changed, they gathered outside. All the guys were to go out and repair parts of the fences. They gathered the supplies and tools needed. Lita gave them sack lunches, while Mina handed them directions. Raye and Serena had gone and gotten their horses. 

The girls all gathered by the door and waved at the guys. The guys waved back and rode toward where the first repair would be. 

When the guys were gone the girls turned toward each other. "So, who's going to do what today?" Mina asked.

"Well, for starters, it's my turn to go stay with Luna, and Ami's going to be in the study going over paperwork." Mia said and walked inside.

"That leaves the rest of us. " Raye commented.

"And what exactly is there that needs to be done today?" Mina asked.

"The garden needs to be weeded, the house cleaned, and the storehouse wall needs to patched, then the whole thing repainted."

The girls looked at Serena. "How do you know all that needs to be done?" Raye demanded.

"I found Luna's list of things to be done."

"Oh."

"OK. Here's the plan. Raye cleans the house, Lita and Serena repair the storehouse, and I weed the garden." Mina said.

"How about I weed the garden and you help Serena. Then when I'm done I'll come help you." Lita suggested.

"Fine." The girls all agreed, and set off to gather what they'd need. Lita had just finished the garden when Darien arrived. She took the stuff from him, gave him a lunch, and sent him to help the guys fix fences. Then she went to help Serena and Mina with the storehouse. 

The two had managed to fix the hole, but the painting just wasn't happening. Or at least painting the storehouse wasn't happening. Mina had paint all over the front of her shirt, and Serena had it in her hair. Plus they had splotches on their faces and various other spots on their body. 

"Just what are you two doing?"

They turned guiltily to Lita. "Umm, nothing?"

"Uh-huh. Sure you were." She smiled. "Now let's get to work and finish this thing."

While they were working, Raye had been cleaning, but she had had to quit so she could watch Luna. Mia was currently scrubbing the parlor floors, which were by study. She could hear Ami muttering.

She stood up and set the brush back in the bucket. She stretched, happy that she'd finished. "Ami? Do you want some help?" She walked into the library, to see that the desk was littered with papers. Ami was currently trying to jimmy open a lock on the bottom drawer.

Ami looked up at Mia. "You wouldn't happen to know how to pick locks would you?"

"Sorry. That wasn't something they covered in finishing school."

Ami laughed. "Well could you look over by that section." She pointed toward the middle row of book in the back. "Luna and Artemis are famous for hiding documents in hollow books. And that was their favorite spot."

"Any titles I should look out for?"

"Yeah, anything to do with myths or the moon."

Mia nodded and started looking. She looked up when she heard Ami's shout of triumph. Then turned back to the bookshelf.

Ami rifled through the papers looking for past documents that had to do with the deed and any financial information that might have been hidden. She stopped when she ran across something surprising. She was just about to call Mia over, when Mia called her over.

"Ami! I think you should see this!"

Ami hurried over, still carrying her papers. "Here, we'll exchange papers." She quickly scanned the papers, then slowed down to really read them. She looked at Mia. "This can't be right."

__

Meanwhile with the Boys . . .

The Boys had set out early, and after a few wrong turns, found the fence in need of fixing. They set the wood down next to the hole. Kento grabbed one piece and pulled. It easily came off. The others helped repeat that process until they had removed the crumbling section of fence. 

Then Ryo and Sage held the pieces of wood in place, while the others started to nail them into place. They finished the first fence in about an hour. (Remember they have to take down the whole fence section. And it's pretty long.)

Then they moved to the next spot, which was a couple miles away. Darien joined them shortly after noon, just as they were sitting down to eat. He waved to them.

"Hey Darien."

"So how long you guys been out here?"

"Not that long."

"Darien?" Sage asked.

"Yes?"

"How did you and Serena get together?"

"Excuse me?"

"Well, I was just wondering how the two of you got together. You're such a solid couple."

"I didn't start out that way."

"Oh, I've got to hear this." Rowen said.

"See, I met Serena 3 years ago. I was walking down the street and . . . 

__

Flashback . . .

Darien was walking down "Main Street"; it was his first week in this new town. He looked up and saw a girl a few years younger than him walking towards him. Her long blonde hair caught the sun and gleamed. She was about two feet in front of him when she tripped, knocking into him, and bringing him down.

"I'm so sorry." She apologized. She quickly stood up and offered him her hand. He took it and pulled himself up.

"You should be more careful, you klutz." Darien said, a little mad that she'd knocked him down.

Serena's mouth fell open. "Ah . . . well . . . I said I was sorry." She retorted angrily. "You, you, you rude, arrogant," she searched for the right word, "thing_!" _

"Oh that was clever. You've wounded me." He said sarcastically.

Serena "hmph"ed and turned around. She started to angrily walk down the street. Darien watched her, amused. He'd have to find out her name.

"Hey wait!" He called after her. "What's your name?" 

Serena ignored him. "Come on. You won't turn into a pumpkin if you tell me will you."

She turned on him. "It's Serena Tsukino." She snapped and marched on.

End flashback . . . 

" And that's how I met Serena. Of course she wouldn't talk to me for several months. I finally got her to admit she liked me, after I started helping out at the ranch for three months. The girls thought it was hilarious."

"That's quite a story." Cye said, eyes wide. "You've come a long ways since then."

Kento gave Darien a sly look. "So when are you gonna ask her to marry you?"

"Umm, well I was going to ask her yesterday. But with all that's happened I thought I'd wait."

"Maybe you should ask her anyway. It might help her cope." 

"Thanks, I'll think about it."

Lunch was over so they got back to work. They worked steadily and finished all the fences. They arrived back at the ranch at dusk.

They dismounted and stabled their horses. They went inside, only to be sent back out by Lita. She insisted that they clean up. When that was done, they went inside and sat down at the table.

Serena and Mina walked in; both were scrubbing their faces. They still had paint on their clothes, but their faces were almost clean. Raye walked in and sat down wearily. Lita smiled at her, then left to go take care of Luna. Mia and Ami walked in, both deep in thought. They silently sat down. 

"Mia, Ami, are you OK?" Mina asked concerned. 

"We're fine, thank you." Mia answered. They discussed it earlier and decided that they wouldn't mention anything until they were positive about their find. 

"So how's Luna doing?" Sage asked.

Ami perked up slightly at this. "She appears to be getting better. She woke up today, and her fever's gone down."

"That's good." 

"I'm hungry, let's eat." Serena commanded. The others shook their heads but did as she said. Supper was passed discussing what they'd all done that day. When they'd finished, they moved into the parlor, except for Serena and Darien. They went for a walk.

Upstairs, Lita was talking to Luna, who had lapsed into sleep. She looked over to see her sleeping. "Oh well." She smiled.

Lita walked over to change Luna's bandage. She pulled the old one off and gasped in surprise. The wound was filled with a funny colored puss. It looked like it wasn't healing in the least. "Luna." She said, trying to wake her. She didn't respond. 

Lita rushed to the head of the bed, and shook Luna's shoulders, "Luna!" She noticed that Luna's breathing was sounding forced. 

Panicked, Lita ran down the stairs and into the kitchen to get clean bandages. The others looked at her questioningly when she came out. "Something's wrong with Luna. I think her wound is infected!" She shouted as she ran up the stairs. 

Mia, Ami, and Sage shot out of their seats and followed her. Mina ran outside to get Serena. She found her and Darien standing under Serena's tree. 

"Serena! Luna's getting worse!"

Serena turned and ran toward the house. She burst through the door and hurried up to Luna's room. When she got there, she found Mia and Ami frantically trying to find the disinfectant the doctor had given them. Lita and Sage were trying to keep Luna awake.

"Luna!" She cried and flung herself at Luna.

Luna turned her head and smiled at Serena. "Hello Serena."

"Luna you've got to pull through this."

"Oh Serena. I'm so tired. I've lived a good life, the best part of it being when you girls came into my life."

"But Luna, if you die whose going to help me with my wedding." Serena pleaded.

Luna's eyes shone with happiness. "Serena I'm so happy for you. But I'm so weary of this world."

"Luna, please! I need you!" Serena cried, tears streaming down her face. "Please Luna!" Lita joined in. "It won't be the same without you here to guide us."

"You girls don't need me anymore. I've taught you all I can." Her voice was getting weaker by the minute. "Just promise me that no matter what, you'll keep fighting." 

"We promise Luna." Ami said. She'd sent Mia to go get Darien, Mina, and Raye. So they could say goodbye. There was nothing they could do. It was all up to Luna, and she appeared to be giving up.

"We're here Luna." Mina announced. 

"Oh girls." Luna's voice was now so soft, they had to crowd around the bed to hear it. "I love you all. You remind me so much of your parents." She looked at Darien. "It's your job to protect them now." Darien nodded solemnly. "You know I will."

Luna turned, a far off look in her eyes. They were all waiting for her to say something else, when Raye realized that Luna had stopped breathing. 

"No! Luna!" She cried. It was too much, and she broke down sobbing. Mia came in and checked for Luna's pulse. She turned to them, a sad look on her face, "I'm sorry girls. She's gone."

************************************************************************

That's all folk! And chapter three winds to an end. Remember share the love and review!

-Kallie

Disclaimer: Don't own either show or their characters. Wish I did, but I don't. I also don't own the song. It's Hero by Mariah Carey.


	4. Flour and Cows

****

Home on the Range

By Kallie

Ch 4

Lita yawned as she walked to the storage house. She was dressed in a fitted shirtwaist that was a sugar pink. She also wore a fawn-colored ankle length skirt. Her auburn hair was pulled up into a high ponytail.

It wasn't quite dawn yet and she was the first one up today. She needed to get breakfast started and wake the others.

In the past few weeks there had been major changes at the ranch. Luna and Artemis had died, and Serena hadn't gotten over it yet, (No one was expecting her to though). They'd cleaned out Luna and Artemis' room and were getting it ready for Serena and Darien. Mia had moved into Serena's current room (they were sharing it till the wedding) and Darien was out with the boys in the bunkhouse.

As it turned out Kento, Sage, Ryo, and Darien had just gotten back from getting cattle to replace the ones that had been stolen. Now they needed to brand them and then get them to the market as soon as possible.

Lita grabbed the last of the flour. She made a mental note to get some more. She set the flour on the ground. As she was getting up to close the door someone leaned around her and shut it for her. She whirled around to see a man with blonde hair that went to his shoulders. He had sapphire-blue eyes and towered over Lita.

"Wayne?! What are you doing here?"

"Just came to see my girl."

"I'm not your girl. And why didn't you wait till a decent hour?"

" 'Cause I missed you so much." Lita rolled her eyes. " Besides I was in the area anyway."

Lita narrowed her eyes at him. "And just _what_ were you doing?"

Wayne stammered and stuttered before finally saying, "Nothing".

"Well maybe you should go join your friends Roy and Jim, and leave me alone."

"Now I couldn't do that." Wayne pouted. "You're being awfully rude, not inviting me in or nothin'."

"I'm being rude? You're the one who stopped by at an indecent hour. Now I think you should leave." Lita said the last part as a command.

"But I just got here." Wayne smiled at Lita, causing her to shiver.

"I want you to leave. NOW." She picked up the flour and tried to walk past him toward the house, but her grabbed her arm making her drop the flour.

"Come on Lita."

""I never said you could call me by my given name!" She snapped. "Now let go."

Nothing happened, except for Wayne's grip tightened. "Wayne. You're hurting me. Let go!"

"I believe the Lady asked you to let go." They turned to see Kento leaning against the bunkhouse. One hand was resting on his holster.

"Who are you?" Wayne demanded.

"Didn't your mama ever tell you it's not right to hurt a lady."

Wayne growled at Kento. Lita saw this as her opportunity and pulled out of his grip. She backed up a ways, out of Wayne's reach. She was giving Wayne a slightly scared look, but she quickly covered it up. Wayne had seen it though.

He tipped his hat to her and strode away. But not before saying, "Morning _Miss_ Kino." She watched till he was out of sight. Then she sighed in relief. She looked at the flour; half of it had spilled.

"Just great. He made me spill all the flour. Now we'll have to go get more today. And with the branding, we need every hand we can get." She muttered to herself. She stiffened when she felt a hand on her shoulder.

"Are you OK?" Kento's concerned voice asked.

She smiled to reassure him. But he didn't believe her and followed her to the house.

"Kento, what are you doing?" She asked when he ran ahead and opened the door for her. He just smiled at her. She gave him an odd look as she passed by.

"Why are up this early?" She asked when he came inside.

"No reason. I just woke up early. I was going to head over when I heard you and that Wayne. What's his problem anyway?"

Lita sighed and started to knead the dough she'd made earlier. "He thinks I'm his girl. I can't for the life of me get him to stop thinking that. I've done everything but threaten to kill him."

"So he works at that Chaos Ranch with Roy and Jim?"

"Yeah. They've been after us since we moved here. They just can't take a hint. And lucky me I get the dullest one of the group."

"What do you mean by dull?"

"Well Wayne's not the smartest person ever." Lita put the dough in the oven and started to cook some eggs.

"Will you watch these. I'm going to wake the girls. We need to start early today."

She walked out of the room and headed upstairs. She started at Raye/Mina's room. She walked in to see both still asleep. She walked over in-between the 2 beds. She gently shook Raye who responded by rolling over and groaning. That was her signal that she was awake. Lita then grabbed Mina by the shoulders and shook her pretty hard. 

"Just 5 more minutes Luna." She mumbled.

"Mina get up!" Lita stepped back. Raye reached under her head and grabbed her pillow. She threw it at Mina.

Lita walked out; knowing Raye would wake Mina. Next she went to her and Ami's room. She knocked and went in. Ami was awake and starring at the wall.

"Ami, is something wrong?"

Ami looked at her. "Just thinking."

"All right."

Last was Mia/Serena's room. Lita pounded on the door and went in. Mia looked at her groggily but sat up. Lita walked to Serena's bed. She took a deep breath and said loudly, "Rise and shine Serena!"

Serena opened one eye the shut it. Mia looked at Lita. "I'll make sure she's up and ready." Lita nodded and went downstairs.

She got to the kitchen to see that Cye had joined Kento, but he was cooking breakfast.

"Morning Lita." He greeted. "I'll cook breakfast today. You sit down and relax."

Lita did as she was told. She turned to Kento; "Maybe you should go wake the guys."

"All ready done." Cye said.

"Oh."

A few minutes later Raye came in dragging Serena behind her. Mina and Ami followed them with Mia bringing up the rear.

The guys came in right after that. Sage and Darien were guiding Rowen. He looked asleep on his feet. Ryo followed them in and closed the door.

Mina, who was in a much better mood this morning, greeted them all brightly.

Breakfast passed quickly and they soon moved on. The girls decided that Mia would get supplies from town. She was handed a list and practically shoved on a horse. Ryo ended up going with her, because he made such a fuss about her not being safe by herself. They decided to take the wagon instead.

The guys were sent to the cattle pens to get things ready while the girls gathered up supplies. 

Today all the girls wore their hair up and out of the way, and they all had aprons on.

When they joined the boys they decided to split into 3 groups so it'd go faster.

Lita, Kento (who insisted he be with Lita), Raye and Sage were Group 1. Ami, Mina, and Cye were Group #2. Serena, Rowen, and Darien were Group 3. 

First Raye and Mina herded the cattle to the main pen. Then each group setup the stuff they needed in 3 smaller pens.

Serena's group was ready first. Darien and Rowen led the animals in one by one while Serena branded them. When that didn't really work they switched it. Serena had a way of calming animals down. So she petted and talked to them while Darien branded them. Rowen would then get the next one.

In Ami's group (Group 2) Mina let them in while Ami branded them and Cye calmed them.

Lita's group had some trouble. But they finally got things rolling. They could brand 2 at once. Raye branded one and Kento the other. Sage had to calm them both and Lita got to herd them into the pen.

Lita's job sounds easy, but it wasn't. She had to ride on a horse and get the cattle to leave the main group. None wanted to do that.

At one point Mina had a bull charge her and she had to jump the fence. Lita and Rowen rode over and threw rope around the bull's neck, restraining it.

As the day drew on, and morning turned to afternoon things were going pretty smoothly. 3/4 of the cattle were branded with a 8 pointed star, the symbol of the Cosmos ranch.

Lita and Raye had switched spots at noon. Kento kept glancing at Lita and it was unnerving her. Whenever she went to do something he was there offering to help her. Sometimes he didn't offer he just did it for her. Lita was getting annoyed fast.

She was trying to brand the bull in front of her but couldn't concentrate. As a result she accidentally kept the poker there too long. The bull broke away and ran toward the other end of the pen. 

Lita growled in frustration. She looked up and saw Kento looking at her. She glanced away. 

"He's worried about you, you know."

Lita turned to glare at Sage. "Well he doesn't need to. I'm fine."

Sage raised his eyebrows, then turned back to the bull in front of him. "It's a hard life out here. Don't you ever feel like you were cheated?"

Lita laughed. "Where did that come from. Of course not. This ranch is the only real home we've ever known. Out here we're free to be ourselves. Why should we feel cheated?"

They continued on in silence for a while. 

Sometime around late afternoon, Mia and Ryo came riding into the courtyard; an elderly gentleman followed them. Serena motioned for everyone to group together. "Grab your stuff, and we'll call it quits for the day." They all hurried to comply.

Serena wiped her hands on her apron and smiled at the man. "To what do we owe the pleasure of this visit, Sheriff?"

Sheriff Ted tipped his hat, "Ladies." His tone was pleasant, but his eyes were troubled. "It would seem that there's a bit of legal howdy-do dealing with your ranch."

Serena's smile faded. "What do you mean?"

"Well, with Luna and Artemis being dead and all . . . we . . . I need to see a will."

Amy spoke up. "But Sheriff, the ranch was left to Serena. It's in her father's will."

"You see Miss Mizuno, there have been some claims that the ranch only goes to Serena once she's of age. That would be this coming summer, correct?" Serena nodded. "I'm afraid that you're going to have to show me the will. You have two weeks to bring it to the courthouse, or we'll have to seize the ranch."

****************************************************************

Hey people, long time huh. I'm really sorry about the year lapse between updates. But going to a foreign country can do that. Anyway, reviews always welcome. 


End file.
